The ancestors of the name Birkenhedd date back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from their residence near a birch-covered headland. The surname Birkenhedd is derived from the Old English words bierce, meaning birch, and heafod, meaning head. [1]
The surname Birkenhedd was first found in Cheshire, at Birkenhead, a rising sea-port, market-town, and township, in the union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall. Another branch of the family was found at Backford, a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, partly in the Higher division of the hundred of Wirrall, and partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Broxton.
"During a great part of the 13th and 14th centuries, the manor was held by the Masseys, of Timperley; about the year 1580 it was sold to Thomas Aldersey, by whom it was soon afterwards alienated to the Birkenheads, who resided at Backford Hall until the family became extinct in the male line in 1724." [2]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Birkenhedd research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1400, 1560, 1590, 1571, 1572, 1553, 1614, 1608, 1614, 1617, 1696, 1616 and 1679 are included under the topic Early Birkenhedd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Birkenhedd has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Birkenhedd have been found, including Birkenhead, Birkehead, Birkenheed, Birkenhedd, Birkead, Birkinhead and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Martin Birkhead (died 1590), an English politician from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Member of the Parliament for Ripon in 1571 and 1572; George Birkhead or Birket, alias Hall, Lambton, and Salvin (c.1553-1614), an English Roman Catholic priest from County Durham who served as the archpriest of England from 1608 until his death in 1614; Henry Birkhead (1617?-1696), an English academic...
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Birkenhedd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.